Brisbane businesses use festivals to get ahead

Dr. Judith Mair has shown that Brisbane firms are getting behind festivals in the city.

A specialist in event management based at the University of Queensland, Dr. Mair has noted that enterprises are using small festivals for promoting different quarters of cities. Brisbane companies could use flyer printing from Milton to advertise events.

Dr. Mair explained the logic of the strategy to the Brisbane Times:

“Taking parts of the city that are maybe not as busy on a Saturday or a Sunday and using the festival as a vehicle to drive people back into the part of the city and to those businesses. It's a relatively new approach I think.”

She pointed out that hosting festivals used to be something that community groups did, whereas events are now largely more corporate in nature. In particular, she connected this trend to the ongoing gentrification of Brisbane. She claimed to be neutral about this emerging pattern of behaviour, but she expressed a degree of vague approval for the movers and shakers behind the fresh tactics.

The core of Brisbane has served as a location for the Spring Hill Fair. However, other areas like West End and South Brisbane have been used as sites for other events. Local bars and eateries are often keen to support these festivals for commercial purposes.